3 Guy Habits That Ruin Diets

Submitted By: Phillip Tucker

You’re a dude. Or a girl who acts like one. Which means you act in a certain way, have certain idiosyncratic approaches to eating and nutrition that most likely hamper and hinder your desire to lose weight. What are you doing wrong? Why is it so hard to shed those stubborn pounds? Maybe your habits need some changing. Let’s take a close look at your guy habits that seem normal, and see if they might just be tripping you up!

Speed Eating

I know I’m guilty of this one. If I’m hungry, and there are four delicious tacos on my plate, rich and hot and ready for the eating, I’ll do just that: eat them, and fast. So you cram it all in your maw, chortling at your good fortune and licking your lips, the whole plate clean in less than two minutes. Yum! And yes, suddenly your tummy is bulging and huge. And you’re stuffed, absolutely gorged. How did you get here? By eating too fast. Your brain didn’t have time to react to all the food you were busy fisting into your mouth, so by the time it could send out signals telling you to stop, it was too late; you’d already eaten too much. So slow down! Eat slower, savor your food, so that your brain has a chance to make you quit when you’ve had enough. Also, eating slow helps you not look like a starving dog.

Skipping Meals

So you’re a busy guy. Running around, getting things done, surfing, waxing down your surfboard, talking to surfer chicks, scoping out the waves. Busy. You don’t have time for every meal, in fact, it’s kind of cool and tough to skip the occasional one, mind over body, right? Plus that way you get to eat a huge lunch or dinner or whatever, and show the other guys what a huge, raving, healthy appetite you’ve got. Good idea? No. Bad idea. Because not only will you then make the mistakes from Speed Eating above (eating too much, Mr. Pig-a-lot-osaurus), but your energy levels will be spiking, your brain deprived of a continuous amount of glucose, so that you think resources are scarce and gorge on your next meal. Don’t do this! Eat regularly so as to maintain a regular appetite.

Scarfing Down Salty Snacks

Salt has a chemical effect on our brains. It stimulates pleasure in our brains, leading to addiction and eating much more of the salty stuff than you had intended. Salty foods activate the release of opiods (yes, that’s exactly what you think it is, dude) linked with reward. The more salt, the more your brain pats itself on the head. As a result, vicious drug dependency cycle begins, resulting in your eating all of the popcorn in that gargantuan bag, in devouring all the peanuts at the bar, or finishing all the pretzels. And there goes your nutrition plan. So! Cut back on salt! Cut back, cook the occasional meal without, don’t sprinkle it on stuff, and be aware if your snack is super salty.

Published At: Isnare.com

5 Secrets To Brighter, Whiter Teeth

Submitted By: John Ramallo

Everyone wants a brighter and whiter smile. Having one can increase self confidence in all aspects of your daily life. And you’ll smile when you learn how easy it can be to get whiter teeth, without spending large amounts of money to do so. Here are a few suggestions to help get you the bright, shining smile that you desire.

Use whitening toothpastes. A tube of toothpaste is only a few dollars at the store. This is probably the least expensive method available to consumers. It is also very easy to use. You just have to brush your teeth like you normally would. Ideally, at least twice a day will produce teeth whitening results. A word of caution however -- the whitening toothpaste will only whiten your teeth a couple of shades. This will also take a little longer than other methods.

A second option to whiten teeth is to use whitening strips. Whitening strips are easy to apply to your teeth. The strips are applied to your teeth for only about half an hour a day. This is a relatively short amount of time. Also, they are very effective in whitening your teeth and show noticeable results in only a few weeks. The only downside is that the whitening strips will set you back anywhere from twenty-five to forty-five dollars.

A third option is to use bleaching trays. Bleaching trays are available through your dentist and are custom fitted to your teeth. This ensures that the whitening gel is more concentrated and should produce better results. It is not necessary to use the bleaching trays more than a few times a week to get results. However, these trays are pricy and do not always work better than the supermarket whitening techniques.

If only a few teeth are in need of whitening, paint-on whiteners may be an option. If you know which teeth are troublesome or look odd next to other whiter teeth, you can simply paint these teeth to match the others. Be careful using this method though. If the whitening solution does not bond well to teeth, it will simply wash away with saliva. This will mean that you are spending money on a product that is not making your teeth any whiter.

Finally, to keep your teeth whiter, minimize your consumption of corrosive drinks (like soda) and use a straw. I know this sounds simple but it can really help. Using a straw keeps these drinks from splashing against your teeth and discoloring them. Soda and other corrosive drinks are not especially good for you anyway and should be avoided if possible. But if you can’t eliminate them from your diet, you can at least minimize the discoloring that they cause by simply using a straw.

There are many options available that will whiten your teeth. Be a smart consumer and do your homework before going out and buying a whitening product. Also ask yourself how much you are willing to spend to get that brighter smile. You should be able to find a nice tradeoff between results and price. Whitening your smile is only a treatment away!

Published At: Isnare.com